Marco Andono Sie

In late April, Vietnam began easing lock down restrictions after reporting fewer than 300 coronavirus cases. By early June, New Zealand had completely lifted its lockdown after more than a fortnight without reporting any new cases. As the pandemic enters its second trimester, our neighboring countries are taking preventative measures to combat the emergence of a second spike– yet with more than 7,000 deaths at the time of writing, Indonesia is yet to surmount our first.

Here are some lessons we can learn from the pandemic.

The data doesn’t lie

When cases began spreading across South East Asia, our country of 270-million reported none (the keyword here being reported).

“Medically, everything can be attributed to prayer.” Despite having only 12 labs administering tests by mid-March, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto justified our surface-level success with reasoning befitting that of a religious figure. “It is our nation’s right to rely on the almighty.”

This disregard for facts isn’t limited to authority figures. According to a survey by The Indonesian Public Opinion Research and Discussion Group, just 12.3 percent of respondents in Jakarta practice physical distancing.

People tend to see themselves as the exception to the rule. Surely one visit to a friend’s house won’t hurt, right?Wrong. Though the climbing numbers may feel like statistics far removed from our lives, we have to remember why they’re climbing in the first place: our choices.

Preserving our environment is very possible

Amid mass turmoil, nature thrives.

As individuals self-isolate and industries slow, animals have begun reclaiming our spaces. Global air quality is on the rise, and ocean pollution levels have plummeted. With fewer people commuting, Jakarta’s PM 2.5 concentration has been cut by a third.

Quarantine has undoubtedly been hard on businesses and individuals alike. But during a health crisis possibly spanning years, we’ve adapted.

Just two months after the virus reached our soil, 35 domestic companies were prepared to produce 18.3 million pieces of protective gear. With restrictions on global trade in place, the coronavirus has forced nations to rely on nearshore production and domestic producers.

In the past few months, we’ve witnessed the rapid acceleration of a long term infrastructural shift away from carbon in global supply chains–a trend we must openly embrace if we want to escape the possibility of runaway climate change.

Our world is interconnected

In a matter of weeks, a single virus infiltrated virtually every border in the world. Given its status as a newcomer, no one is immune to COVID-19.

This hasn’t stopped us from drawing distinctions between ourselves. In late January, Trump issued an executive order blocking travel from China.

“We did a great job on Coronavirus, including the very early ban on China,” Trump proudly tweeted over the summer, “We saved millions of US lives!”

He neglected to ban travel from Hong Kong and Macau. In a subsequent ban on European travel, the UK was also conspicuously exempt.

Currently, the US has almost 6 million reported cases of COVID-19.

Pathogens don’t discriminate. Political affiliations cannot negotiate with pandemics, andanti-Chinese sentiments will not bring us closer to finding a cure (though according to recent studies, traces of the virus have been found in Northern Italy as early as December 2019).

Dividing ourselves only impedes progress. To beat the virus, we must present a united front and momentarily sacrifice the small conveniences of life for the sake of common interest. If not—then there might not be a post-coronavirus era for us to reflect on 2020 from.

The writer is winner of the 2019 Young Founders Summit Asia competition.

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